Meet Sonny Bravo, the sweet but surly almost-sixteen-year-old who shrugs his way through The Flowers, Austinite Dagoberto Gilb’s first novel since 1994’s The Last Known Residence of Micky Acuña. At Los Flores— the East L.A. apartment building where Sonny lives with his mother, Silvia, and her redneck husband, Cloyd, who runs the place—each day brings a moral dilemma: Should he sweep Cloyd’s sidewalks or steal the wad of cash in his desk? Smoke mota with sluttish neighbor Cindy or eat pizza with virginal Nica? Gilb, a cranky stylist to be sure, revels in his flawed characters. They’re selfish, stoned, and dishonest; when a race riot breaks out, it’s as if he’s summoning Old Testament hellfire and brimstone. But Gilb, more romanticist than moralist, looks into Sonny’s future and sees redemption, not damnation, waiting there. Grove Atlantic, $24 Reviewed by Mike Shea
In his sixth novel, Names on a Map, Benjamin Alire Saenz writes about America’s hypercharged Vietnam era with the stoic calm that you might expect from a former priest (which he is). The war has crossed the Pacific to visit the Espejo family in their El Paso home: Eighteen-year-old Gus is thinking about ignoring his draft call and running to Mexico; twin sister Xochil protests against the Southeast Asian conflict (despite her romantic entanglement with gung ho enlistee Jack Evans); and their father, Octavio, enraged by his children’s pacifist leanings—this is surely not the America his father fled the Mexican Revolution for—instigates bitter fights with both them and his wife, Lourdes. Names on a Map is Sáenz’s typically well-wrought fiction, though this story of a house divided might have benefited from a bit less manner and a bit more passion. Harper Perennial, $14.95 Reviewed by Mike Shea
The Jim Crow realities of a forties Mississippi cotton farm form a somber background for Mudbound, the long-awaited debut by Texas native Hillary Jordan. It’s a bitter tale of two World War II heroes, a bomber pilot and a tank commander, who return from the war to quite different circumstances: Jamie McAllan’s Klan-friendly family owns the farm, while Ronsel Jackson’s parents, one generation removed from slavery, sharecrop it. Bound by their common battle experience, the soldiers become friends and cross the intractable color line. There’s a sense here that Jordan is working fields that have been previously plowed, but it’s hard to begrudge a young author the chance to tackle big themes. Jordan worked through eleven drafts of Mudbound, earning the Bellwether Prize for best unpublished novel along the way. The result is a meticulous, moving narrative. Algonquin, $21.95 Reviewed by Mike Shea
Terry Moore
Terry Moore
In June 2007 the Houston artist, writer, and publisher wrapped up his Strangers in Paradise comic book series after a fourteen-year run. He writes Runaways and Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane for Marvel Comics, and he is now launching Echo, a new superhero series.
Has Echo been percolating for a while?
When I finished Strangers in Paradise, I thought I’d choose my next book from the files of ideas I’d collected over the years. But everything felt dated. So I began with a blank page, and Echo came together from an assortment of junk science ideas in my head. I wrapped that frightening stuff around this innocent young woman, and the story appeared in the contrast.
Any concerns that those junk science elements will alienate Strangers fans?
I’m hoping my readers know that whatever the boundaries of probability, my stories will always be about people. I think there’s more humanity in Stargate than in Silence of the Lambs.
What are the upsides—and downsides—of being your own publisher?
The upside is I get all the money . . . tens and tens of dollars. The downside is my wife and I have to do all the work. We’ve added people to the routine, but there’s no getting around it: Publishing is a lot of work, and there’s no safety net. Abstract Studio, $3.50 Read the full interview.
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